12" mitre blade recommendations

[Steve Evans]

Hello all

I have to replace the stock blade on my 12" Bosch mitre saw. The stock one really is of poor quality. As much as I'd love to go Forrest, other budgetary constraints prevent me from doing so. So what I'd really love to get is something that cuts as good as a Forrest for half the price , not asking for much am I.

I've heard some good things about other Dewalt blades, does anybody have experience with them in the 12" blade.Any other recommendations. Budget would like to stay around the $75 mark or less.

Thanks

Steve

Edit -- oh yeah, I really don't want a thin kerf blade.

[Tim Morton]

amazon has a combo pack of 2 12" dewalt miter saw blades for $44 bucks. That would be a cheap way to find out what you think of dewalt blades. The one that came on my dewalt miter saw was fine. Not sure I would buy another though. I replaced it with a freud for about $60 bucks and it is a nicer blade i think. You mentioned you didn't want thin kerf but you didn't say why, and you also didn't mention what you wanted to primarily cut with the new blade. HTH's.

[Steve Cox]

I'm suprised your stock blade is not working well. The one that came with my 12" Bosch SCMS was suprisingly good. I expected a poor one and have found no need to change mine out yet. BTW I use Forrest on my TS so I do know the difference.

[Jim McCarty]

I do construction and finish carpentry for a living and if it were me, I would go with a Freud. As mentioned earlier, stay away from the thin kerf blades. Teflon coating doesn't seem to be a big benefit-take it or leave it. Good luck. Jim

[Greg Narozniak]

I have a Forrest Chopmaster and have been VERY satisified with it. Whilen I know this is out of your price range you be surprised what you can find on Ebay or the classifieds of this and the other popular WW boards.

The LU85 would be very high on my choice list as well.

Cannot go wrong with either blade IMHWWO

[Ken Waag]

Steve,

Here's a way to get a blade that cuts as good as a Forrest at a lower cost. Find a good deal on the best blade you can around $60. Probably a Frued. I don't know from your post how many teeth you want or other parameters but they have some nice 72 to 96 tooth blades at $60. If you can find one of their LU series on sale you might get it around $60. Send it to Forrest for a resharpening. Part of Forrest's quality of cut comes from their sharpening ( the C4 carbide and super flat plates help as well). But with a decent blade sharpened by them you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference in the cut.

[M. A. Espinoza]

Check Ebay, I saw a deal for two Oldham 80 tooth Signature for 50 bucks. I just bought a Freud 80 tooth or I would have jumped on that.

[CPeter James]

I just had a bad experience with a 12" miter saw blade from a premium grade manufacturer (not Forrest). The blade was great, but made for a radial arm saw, not a slider. The blade cut great and glass smooth, but was always grabby. Well last week it threw a cut off at me (required some stitches to close the cut on my chin). The reason - too much positive hook on the teeth. Make sure that the blade has negative hook. The 60 tooth Dewalt does, but the 80 tooth blades do not. I have both and the do feel different when cutting. My first choice next time is a Forrest Chopmaster. The price is $107 at Silvers Mill (Silversmill.com). The extra price is well worth it for the safety factor alone. The supreme cut is a bonus.

CPeter